In 1836 Ferdinand de Meeûs (1798–1861), a scion of a commercial family, was ennobled by the Belgian king Leopold I, with the title of count.

He used the same coat of arms, which was in use within his family, originally prominent members of the corporation of brewers in Brussels.

Ferdinand count Meeûs was a lifelong governor of the Société Générale, founded under the Dutch King William I and becoming a major economic player in the industrial development of the new Belgian kingdom.

In later years, his descendants sold a part of the land to an American businessman, William Hallam Tuck, who had married the Belgian heiress Hilda Bunge.

This elegant mansion was sold to the Belgian government in 1949 and was used from 1961 on as the residence of former king Leopold III and his wife Princess Lilian.